I'm a new guy with a new to me '97 ranger 3.0 auto. Plain jane ext cab. It has 168,000 miles currently & runs good. I couldn't pass on the $500 price, it has new tires & battery that almost cost that much. I'm here to learn the quirks & problems with these trucks & maybe give some input. I was a 15 year ase certified tech & have worked on many different cars & keep ow they all have specific problems & fixes. I have also been into drag racing since i was 15 & im 47 now. Mostly 5.0 mustang & smallblock chevy stuff. I am Ford loyal, but love all types of muscle cars, hot rods & race cars. Also an avid bass fisherman.

 

Welcome to the forum

1997 was the last year of Generation 2 Rangers
1983 to 1992 was Gen 1, smaller body size
1993 to 1997 was Gen 2
1998-2011 was Gen 3

Gen 2 and 3 are almost the same, most parts are interchangeable

In 1998 Ford changed to torsion bars and higher pressure fuel system

3.0l Vulcan is a good reliable engine, but it is a High RPM engine by design
Most engines make best torque starting at 2,400-2,800 RPM
The 3.0l Vulcan starts making best torque at 3,500-3,900 RPM
This gave it the "3.slow" nick name, lol.
But if you drive it "like a rented mule" you will see some power and it LIKES high RPMs, hard to do with an automatic, but you can tell when torque band starts to "kick in"

Rangers used the 3.0l Vulcan from 1991 thru 2008

1997 was the last year of speedometer gear on the transmission, you have an electric speedometer but it's Speed sensor(VSS) in on the transmission tail shaft driven by a gear, so you can change tires sizes and change the gear to correct speedometer, this is the last year you could do that on Rangers
In 1998 and up you need to "reprogram" speed calibration

1995 and up Rangers do use OBD2, so codes can be read with any OBD2 reader

 

Wonder how that engine resonds to advancing the camshaft a few degress? Sounds like they may be retarded from the factory. I know on my 5.0 mustang, i retarded the cam 4 degrees & picked up good mid range & topend power.